Following the politics, media and current events of Niagara. Written by Greg Miller, one voice of an emerging generation.

Category Archives: Women in Politics

So after I mentioned that only 20% of Niagara’s current municipal politicians were women, someone inquired whether that figure had gone up or down since the last election. Also, in my interviews with Debbie Zimmerman and Laura Ip, both mentioned the need for more women to run as candidates in municipal elections. (As I have more time for further research, I will be updating this page.)

First up, St. Catharines Councillors and Candidates by gender for the past five elections. The downward trend in the number of woman Councillors is an obvious concern, though other than 2010, the number of candidates remains relatively the same. (It should be noted that the 2010 Council finished with 3 women and 9 men, as Laura Ip replaced Greg Washuta.)

In five elections, a woman’s name was on the ballot 39 times compared to the 124 times a man’s name was on the ballot. This is an obvious problem when 50% of the population makes up only 24% of the candidates.

I also looked at the past two elections for Regional Council positions. I did not include Mayors, even though they do serve as Regional Councillors. Thus, these figures are for the 19 Regional Council positions (whoever is elected Regional Chair is replaced by the next highest vote-getter from their municipality.) Further thus, though 4 of 31 Council members are women, as I’ve stated before, only 2 of 19 of those elected as Regional Councillors are women.

Only 8 and 7 women candidates in the whole of Niagara is pretty sad.

There are many reasons why there are not enough woman candidates and many challenges to being a candidate and a politician as a woman; however, it is plainly obvious we need to do what we can to attract more women candidates.

Recently, I asked two women who have been politicians in Niagara and remain very involved in the community for their perspective of women in politics in Niagara.

Laura Ip was appointed to and served on St. Catharines City Council in 2014 following a vacancy on Council (Ip placed third in the affected ward in 2010 municipal election.) She also ran in the 2006 and 2014 municipal elections. During her year on Council, Ip championed both adopting a Living Wage for St. Catharines and inititiating an open data program for St. Catharines. She also worked hard to respond to all her constituents’ needs and requests. Since leaving politics, Ip has continued to be a freelance consultant and facilitator, and a research and teaching assistant at Brock University. She was recently hired to be the Resource Development Coordinator at YWCA Niagara. Ip is a board member of Cowork Niagara, the Vice-Chair of the Niagara Workforce Planning Board and actively involved with the Pearl Gloves Charity Boxing Match for the MS Society of Niagara.

Debbie Zimmerman spent 36 consecutive years in local politics from 1978-2014. She began as a local alderman (councillor) in Grimsby, before being elected to Regional Council in 1989, a position she held until deciding not to seek reelection in 2014. During this time, Zimmerman was the first female Regional Chair from 1997-2003, where her many accomplishments include bringing Early Years Centres to Niagara (the first community in Ontario to do so) and the creation of the Niagara Community Foundation. She also ran for MP in the Federal riding of Niagara West in 2004. Currently, she is the CEO of the Grape Growers of Ontario and sits on a number of local boards, including Pathstone Mental Health and YMCA. She also recently spoke at the Niagara Leadership Summit for Women.

Suffice it to say, there are not many women in Niagara who have a better understanding of the Niagara community and what it is like to be a woman candidate and politician. Below are my questions followed by their answers.

When you ran for office, did you consider the lack of woman representation? Do you think that lack of representation motivated you or discouraged you?

Laura Ip: All three times that I ran for City Council, I spoke to the need for balance on our municipal councils, and I always framed it as needing balance in age, gender, and ethnicity/race, among other things. I think the lack of female representation both motivated and discouraged me. I was motivated to become one of the women at the table in an effort to achieve that balance, but discouraged, because I knew some of the challenges I would face at the door as a female candidate, particularly one with young children.

Debbie Zimmerman: I did not really think about the lack of women on Council or at the Region but I did think that women could bring a different perspective to the Chambers.

Regarding the incident with Mishka Balsom, do you think any of Niagara’s current local councils have a gender problem, or was her treatment unrelated to her gender, or not an issue at all? Do you think this is an example of treatment that may discourage women from entering politics?

Ip: I can’t speak to individual motivations for the way that Balsom was spoken to by Regional Councillors, but I can’t imagine that anyone who spoke to her they way they did would have dreamed of speaking to her predecessor [Walter Sendzik] that way. I can say that I’ve had one-on-one interactions with some of the politicians in that particular incident, as well as several other male politicians in Niagara, and the challenge to be taken seriously and treated with respect is very real. That is in no way to suggest that all male politicians behave in this manner, because they do not. That any of them do, though, can be extremely difficult to deal with, and I know a couple of women who have considered running but have been discouraged by such behaviour.

Zimmerman: What is clear to me is that the view being expressed by Balsom was one the Chair didn’t want to hear. His lack of tolerance of someone else’s opinion in a democratic society was just wrong. I think the treatment of the CEO of the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce was unacceptable and others failing to act when anyone is poorly treated at a Council or committee meeting is unacceptable.

What has your experience as a woman candidate been?

Ip: Being a candidate is really an experience like no other. You don’t get a lot of policy questions when knocking on doors. What I did get, though, that my male counterparts did not, was asked routinely about my family status; what my husband did (people assumed I was married, as I never made mention of my husband in my election materials, either before or after we separated); if my husband would tolerate me sitting on City Council and not being home with the children at night; if, as a mother, I had time to be getting involved in politics, etc. While I did have many people say they would vote for me because I was the only woman running in the ward (2010, 2014), I also received quite a number of comments about my physical appearance, both in person and on social media. The comments ranged from tame (though still inappropriate) to downright vulgar. That can be extremely difficult to deal with. Following the 2014 election, a candidate against whom I ran attacked me via his Facebook page with a number of not only inaccurate but also extremely sexist remarks.

Zimmerman: I survived many years in politics, I think, by focusing on the issues and not my gender, and working hard to keep issues the focus. It isn’t easy, but eventually your experience and knowledge will be acknowledged over your gender.

What has your experience as a woman politician been?

Ip: I loved being on City Council and I’m proud of the work that I did during my short time serving in that role. I met some really great people in the community and I helped citizens address challenges they were having with various areas of municipal government. Most of the experience was extremely positive. Having said that, moving from being a candidate to being on Council, you have to have a much thicker skin. I took a great deal of criticism in the traditional media (by way of anonymous comments on the local paper’s website) and through social media (both publicly and through private messages people sent to me). While I will concede that criticism of our politicians is to be expected, it was the tone of the criticism and the way in which it was delivered that I found to be different than when my male counterparts were criticized. Adjectives were used to describe me that would not have been used if I was not a woman. If I attempted to challenge this style of criticism I was, in effect, shouted down for being “too sensitive” or something similar.

Zimmerman: It was a terrific experience meeting other great women who came before me and many no longer with us. I had great mentors both women and men who recognized my desire to be good at what I was elected to do.

If you could single out one issue for why women are so underrepresented in political positions in Niagara, what would it be?

Ip: There is data that shows that people in minority groups (remembering that “minority” is not used to indicate number, but to indicate a group that has historically been considered to be subordinate to the dominant group, so women, racial/ethnic groups, people living with disabilities, etc.) do not typically aspire to roles in which they do not see themselves represented. If one does not see themselves represented in leadership positions, they are likely to write those positions off as not being open to them. So, yes, representation is absolutely an issue with respect to women in politics and leadership roles, but I think one of the biggest symptoms of that problem is what I’ve discussed above: that women are not expected to seek out roles in politics and leadership. We are still expected to carry the majority of the family and household responsibility and, if we have anyone else do it, not only are we somehow less than, but so are those who do it for us. Men who stay home with their children whilst their female partners work are considered to be “whipped,” for instance. I was repeatedly asked “as a mother, do you have time for this,” and when my answer was, “I don’t see how it’s any different than it is for any of the fathers who are on City Council,” I often met further resistance or was asked if I was suggesting that the question was sexist (which, yes, it is, if you’re not also asking it of my male counterparts). Until women can anticipate being accepted in political and leadership roles, it will be difficult to get enough of them to challenge the status quo.

Zimmerman: Many women carry a heavy load with family and work. Thinking about running for a part-time council job that takes many long nights away from family is tough. We don’t make it easy for women to get involved, especially if they have families .

What would you do or change in Niagara to ensure our representation reflects our demographics?

Ip: I don’t think there’s anything that can be done that wouldn’t be illegal or otherwise discriminatory (such as a “quota”.) I have never thought that women should be elected simply because they run. We have good and not as good candidates in both men and women. Having more women run would increase the chances of equal representation, but there’s no guarantee. A lot of the challenges really have to do with perception and attitude about women and their capabilities in these arenas.

Zimmerman: Not an easy answer as the whole system must change to give women a chance to get involved. Just one example might be requiring good child care support where they work. I see so many bright young women struggling to find that life-work balance yet wanting to be involved.

Any other thoughts on women in politics?

Ip: Nothing more than that I would like to see more women run and that I strongly believe in the importance of mentoring. Like other women I have met and know well who have been involved in politics, I am happy to speak to any woman who is considering running and give her a sense of what to expect, how to handle it, and answer any other questions she may have.

Zimmerman: I can only say from my perspective that one of the most rewarding things I have ever done is represent my community on council. You need to be passionate about whatever you do in life, and politics is no exception but democracy is worth it!

Two great, unique perspectives from two very impressive women. It is obvious that the issue of women representation in politics is part of a larger gender issue. As pointed out by both above, there is no one solution for having our political representation balanced or matching our population’s demographics. It would be naive to think any small or large changes in Niagara will alter the ultimate problem of gender inequality. However, both Zimmerman and Ip have pointed out some of the issues women face and noted the need for more women candidates in municipal elections. The UN and FCM have set a very modest goal of 30%. A council accurately reflecting the concerns of 50.4% of its constituents is the absolute bare minimum that should be expected.

Niagara is receiving less than the bare minimum. It is time for that change.

I want to thank both women for participating. The Niagara Next Blog will remain committed to examining and addressing the issue of women representation in Niagara politics. Next time we’ll examine some more facts and figures.

Please share your reaction, opinion or experience below, or on Facebook or Twitter.

First: not only was the motion defeated; at the Corporate Services Committee, the CEO of the chamber, Mishka Balsom, was subjected to many patronizing remarks from Councillors; presumably for her transgression of taking the time to represent her organization’s well-founded hope for change with a good presentation on why an elected Chair is needed. One Councillor asked Ms. Balsom if she understood and could explain how Canadians elected our Prime Minister; another suggested she wasn’t running her organization or communicating with her members correctly. This brow-beating went on for over an hour. A clip (beginning around the 25 minute mark) can be found here. I remind you, this is the representative of the greater business community being told not “thanks, but no thanks” but instead “no, you ignorant incompetent” by our fair Regional Councillors.

I decided to look at Balsom’s presentation and the response from Councillors further. I watched it so you don’t have to, but if you’d like, you can see the video here.

The scene

The Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce (GNCC) represents 1,550 businesses throughout Niagara; those businesses employ 45,000 people.It is “the champion of business in Niagara.” Suffice it to say, it is an important organization.

Governance reform has been on the GNCC’s agenda for at least four years now. In a 2013 survey, 80% of the GNCC’s membership supported changing Niagara Region’s governance model to include an elected Regional Chair. In 2014 the GNCC actually asked candidates for Regional Council to commit to this governance reform.

On September 23rd, Niagara Region’s Corporate Services Committee had a motion on their agenda concerning moving towards an elected chair. So, seeing this item on the agenda, the GNCC’s CEO, Mishka Balsom, decided to ask to make a delegation to the Committee. This is common. Walter Sendzik (former CEO), Kithio Mwanzia (former policy director) and others have presented many times on behalf of the chamber at various local councils.

Balsom became CEO of the GNCC in April of this year. Prior to that she founded a successful consulting company and worked in the magazine business. She was chosen over 100 other candidates to be CEO. She’s a successful, qualified person. I’ve met her a few times; she’s a genuinely nice person and a good leader. This was her first time presenting on behalf of the GNCC to a Regional committee or council.

How’d it go?

Balsom presented a good case for why the GNCC wants to see reform, the benefits of an elected chair and how our current system is antiquated compared to other regions.

After a delegation, Councillors have an opportunity to ask questions of the presenters. This typically lasts anywhere from zero to twenty minutes. I recall in January that Kithio Mwanzia presented to St. Catharines Council on behalf of the Chamber on governance reform, which was at the time a ‘hot topic’ of some controversy in St. Catharines. His question period lasted twenty minutes. Balsom was questioned for an hour.

The real issue, the real embarrassment, of what happened that day was the way Councillors treated Balsom. Four councillors (Quirk, Maloney, Annunziata and Heit) asked standard questions that could be expected. Some agreed with governance reform and some did not but they all asked pertinent questions and did so with a normal, respectful tone. Five Councillors asked insulting or frivolous questions in a patronizing tone.

Who said what?

Let’s keep in mind, this is essentially the “face” of the business community representing the wishes of the business community. She’s an intelligent, successful and respectful woman. She was not chastising Council or Councillors themselves and was not criticizing any of their work. [Some paraphrasing done for clarity below.]

Councillor Selina Volpatti, Niagara Falls – “Ms. Balsom, I’m sure you’re aware of how we elect our Prime Minister. Could you describe to me how we do that?”

Off to a good start here. Balsom did well to deflect this insulting “question”: “You’re asking me how the political system works? I think we’re all aware of it.”

Volpatti finished by saying there was little interest in the topic, despite Balsom having just said 80% of their membership is very interested in it.

Councillor Bob Gale, Niagara Falls – This is where things really got going. I should point out that Councillor Gale is the Chair of two companies that are GNCC members. You would think this possible conflict would lead him to support Balsom and the GNCC. You would be wrong. Instead he used his political position to question the GNCC’s priorities, its website and its leadership:

“I’m looking at your website and there’s no transparency; it doesn’t say who’s on the committees. Is that standard?”

“When was the last time you [GNCC] made a presentation to Council?” And that would have been on what? This issue again? I’m going to suggest to you that this is not an issue in Niagara Falls. I would suggest that your Chamber, and I’ll be strong with what I say, keep your eyes on the prize. You’re in front of us on an issue here…I could stand in front of your members and see if they care about this. You’re here talking about a non-issue. I expect the chamber…” (here Gale was rightfully cut off since he was not asking questions, just telling the presenter how to run her organization.)

“Is this the most important item you think you should be making a presentation on?” [Balsom says “I saw it on your agenda today…] Gale interrupts: “I got no agenda please.”

“I support you standing up for what you think is right but I would suggest your members don’t agree with that.”

Reminder: the GNCC shouldn’t be on trial here.

Councillor Andy Petrowski, St. Catharines – Petrowski begins by questioning Balsom and the GNCC’s organization, wondering why the decision to present to Council was made “at the last minute.” Early on Petrowski had to be reminded to keep questions to the presentation, instead of belittling the GNCC or Balsom.

“I just find it interesting, given our depressed economy, challenged jobs, challenged underemployment, our challenged private sector income, yet you’re in front of us today, you think this is even more burning than those issues and I would even suggest to you your internal issues of communicating with your own members, who’s on your committees and getting your website up to date. You find this to be the burning issue of that?”

“I was questioning your priorities.”

Councillor Bart Maves, Niagara Falls –

“If we had an elected chair, would the candidate receiving the highest votes be the Chair?”

“I’m just curious to know what powers does the Regional Chair have now. Explain it to me.” [This is similar to Volpatti’s “how do we elect our PM” question. Balsom is forced to “prove” herself by answering simple questions. It is a childish tactic.]

Maves answers for her: “He doesn’t have any power.” This isn’t true. Maves is a veteran politician, who knows that the Regional Chair is very different than a Councillor, in that it’s a full-time position with dedicated staff support; the Chair also sets the legislative and financial agendas and acts as the “face” of the Region.

Maves brings up that a Chair could run on a platform that is different than a Councillor’s platform. So how could they work together? This happens literally every municipal election featuring a Mayor and city councillors. The sky has not, yet, fallen. Again, Maves knows this.

“So the GNCC hasn’t had a conversation about the number of Regional councillors?” This isn’t what’s up for discussion today, so it’s a strange criticism.

“Whenever this conversation comes up, because it seems instead of concentrating on the business of the Region and improving things so businesses can flourish and create jobs; we want to navel-gaze and focus on internal issues.”

“Inevitably also right now in municipal politics, there’s no party politics.” (I won’t blame you if your eyes just rolled out of head and across the floor.)

“If you’re Regional Chair and you’re raising money, inevitably the parties would get involved.” (Balsom: The GNCC is a non-partisan organization and this isn’t what we’re discussing today. This is true, this a detail that would be confronted in the process; Balsom is just asking that the process begins today.) Maves: “so your organization hasn’t had the conversation about the cost of this election, or the party’s being involved in this? It sounds like you haven’t addressed these issues.”

After ten minutes of untruths and spurious questioning, Maves is cut off by the Chair of the committee, David Barrick.

Regional Chair Al Caslin, St. Catharines – Chair Caslin starts off with a paternalistic “Hi Mishka. Tough room.” Ah, the proverbial arm around the shoulder. Then, in just about the most condescending tone possible: “Would it be OK with you if we stopped talking about ourselves and got on with our strategic plan and our focus on prosperity and creating jobs in Niagara?”

With that, Balsom’s hour of grilling comes to an end.

So what does this mean?

At best, this incident shows us that our Council, which is apparently “open for business“, is not even interested in hearing from the business community. If someone as prominent and important as the CEO of the GNCC has their delegation used as an excuse to put their organization and leadership on trial, why would any citizen feel confident sharing their own opinions?

I will leave it to you to decide if her gender played a role in her treatment. What I can say, again, is I have witnessed many occasions that Walter Sendzik, Kithio Mwanzia and other male Chamber representatives presented to local councils just like Balsom did. Rarely are they questioned for as long as Balsom was. They never had their own competency or their organization’s competency questioned. They were not insulted with childish questions.

Leaving aside that Balsom is a woman. Leaving aside she is the face of an important community in Niagara. Leaving aside she’s a successful person. Leaving aside she’s a smart person. Leaving aside she’s a nice person. She’s a person and she deserves dignity and respect from our elected representatives. She did not receive these.

If Niagara is going to progress we need to demand better of our elected representatives. We need diverse, thoughtful and intelligent representation.

We need a Council that respects its citizens, no matter their opinion, their sexual orientation or their gender identity. We are not receiving this.